Joint Custody
by pleasant-hell
Summary: Brittany gets back from summer vacation to find a different Santana than the one she left behind. Santana also discovers that Brittany changes too.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Glee.

* * *

Brittany had only been in town for a few days and since she had been busy unpacking, she hadn't gotten the chance to see Santana. So when she got to school she was surprised by the Santana that stood in front of her.

There was something different about her that Brittany couldn't quite put a finger on. She still smiled and hugged her best friend, but she still studied Santana like she was a complete stranger.

Finally Santana asked Brittany if she liked the upgrades. At first Brittany didn't understand so Santana pointed to them. Brittany gasped when she realized how Santana had spent her summer vacation. Something about them unnerved Brittany a little, but she kept her mouth shut. Sure that was a change, but Brittany knew something else was different.

Things were happening really fast around her and then next thing Brittany knew, she was in the glee room. She looked around the room and remembered all the good times the glee club had had. She couldn't wait to start again.

Brittany giggled in excitement to herself and skipped out the door, knowing that this year that the potential to be a lot better than the last.

The classes that Brittany did manage to make it to were short and boring. When the last bell of the day rang she looked next to her and saw Santana smiling at her. This was going to be the first time in two months that they'd gotten to hang out.

They made their way to Santana's house and rushed up the stairs to Santana's bedroom.

After Santana had shown Brittany her assets, they lay in bed watching TV.

"Why did you fight with Quinn?" Brittany asked quietly a few minutes into the TV show.

Santana lulled her head to the side to look at the blonde, "Because she took my spot on the Cheerios. I don't really want to talk about it."

"Oh," Brittany sighed, "But are you mad that I didn't help you?"

"Of course not," Santana turned down the TV and rolled on her side to make it easier to study Brittany's reactions and emotions, "I know you don't like to fight. What happened was between Quinn and me."

Brittany bit her lip and thoughtfully looked at the sheets under them. Then she nervously brought her eyes up to Santana's face, "Can I still be her friend?"

Santana sighed, knowing that Brittany wouldn't be happy if she said no. "You can, but I won't be around her."

The blonde didn't smile. Instead she sighed heavily and dropped her head onto the pillow, "Why are you two so mean to each other?"

"Because she doesn't want me to have anything. She took the Cheerios. She took my popularity. I'm surprised she hasn't tried to take you. She hates me." Santana brought her fingers up to run through Brittany's hair.

"Why?"

Santana shrugged, "I don't know."

With that answer, Brittany turned back to the TV, curling up against Santana's side.

Santana sighed, thinking about everything that happened over the summer. Everything seemed to lead back to the same place.

Brittany is the only one that gave Santana purpose. To protect. To cater to. To teach. To shelter. To love. And when Brittany was gone Santana realized this. She got angry that Brittany was her only real friend and that Brittany was so woven into her very being that she felt depressed after a few days without the blonde.

Without Brittany she didn't feel anything but empty. She felt stupid and ugly because Brittany always looked at her like she was smartest, most beautiful person on the planet. She never realized before that the majority of her self-esteem hinged on Brittany.

Her mom telling her that she looked like hell when she'd go downstairs to eat breakfast didn't help. So one day Santana decided to do something about it. The one thing Brittany always assured her was perfect was the one thing that the majority of other girls had that were better than hers. Her dad was out of town at a medical conference and her mom was rushing out the door when she asked and offered her mom the form to sign.

So a few days and a credit card payment later, Santana woke up with a body any model would be jealous of. However, she didn't feel complete like she'd hoped. At least she mused that Brittany liked boobs. Like, really liked boobs so when she got back she'd have more to play with.

So far that theory was correct. Brittany did seem to enjoy herself. However there were very few things that Brittany couldn't find some sort of joy in.

As much as Santana didn't want her to, Brittany had to go home at nine. So Santana walked her the three blocks home and hugged her goodbye before returning to her large, empty house.

The next morning during her first class, Brittany was walking through the empty hallway on the way back from the bathroom when Quinn caught up with her.

"Hey Brittany," Quinn smiled sweetly, "How's it going?"

"Going where?" the taller girl asked.

Quinn rephrased the question, "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Brittany replied.

"Awesome. Do you wanna go to a movie after school?" Quinn smiled at the other blonde Cheerio.

Brittany grinned, "Sure." The bell rang and the hallway started to flood with students.

The head Cheerio nodded, "Great. We can leave from glee." She hugged Brittany, "See you later."

Brittany happily walked down the hallway until she felt a strong, but gentle hand on her arm. "Hey."

She beamed when she saw Santana, "Hey."

"You're coming over after school right? To work on our Spanish homework?" Santana asked with a small smile. She slung the backpack she shared with Brittany over her shoulder. She was glad school was back in because she'd have an excuse to ask Brittany to come over every night.

"Of course," Brittany linked her pinkie with Santana's, "I'll asked Quinn if she'll drop me off after the movie."

"What?" Santana stopped dead in the middle of the hallway.

Brittany turned around and looked confusedly at Santana, "I said I'll asked Quinn if she'll drop me off after the movie."

"I heard that," Santana huffed. She started walking again disengaging her hand from Brittany's. "I can't believe her."

"Believe what?" Brittany scampered to catch up with Santana.

"Quinn's trying to steal you," Santana started firmly, "You're all I have left and she's coming after you."

Brittany shook her head, "She can't steal me. We're just friends."

Santana turned into the Cheerios locker room to get ready for practice. "I'm gonna kill that bitch."

"No," Brittany grabbed her hand just as they stepped inside. She twirled Santana around, "You can't kill her."

"I didn't mean literally," Santana sighed.

"Oh," Brittany dropped her hand that was on Santana, "Just…can you not be mad at her?"

"She's trying to ruin my life B," Santana shook her head with a determined fire in her eye, "I can't let her do that." With that she turned and walked off, into the gym. Brittany stared at the ground for a few minutes before following Santana. She was wanted to keep talking to the other Cheerio, but when she walked in she saw that Santana was on the bottom of the pyramid, struggling to hold the rest of the girls up.

"Brittany!" Sue called through a megaphone, which was completely unnecessary because Brittany was only a few feet from her, "Get up on the pyramid. You're with Quinn."

Brittany's eyes shot to Santana who looked like she was about to dump everyone off and jump Quinn. However Quinn let a smug smirk out and made sure to step on Santana's back hard as she was climbing to the top.

"Watch it Fabray," Santana growled.

"What are you going to do about it?" Quinn quipped back and kept climbing.

Santana was about to say something when she felt tender fingers gently rub the place where Quinn's foot was before straightening out her uniform. Santana immediately felt calmer as Brittany's fingers grazed the small of her back before she used another way to get to the top with Quinn.

After practice, Quinn walked into the glee room. There was no one there yet because she was a little early, but that was fine with her. It would give her a chance to snoop through the sheet music and hide some horribly tragic songs before Mr. Schue could force it on them.

Just as she was looking over a new song, she heard the door open. When she turned around she saw Santana stalking toward her.

"What the hell is your damage?" Santana growled through her teeth as she got closer.

Quinn crossed her arms, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about Brittany," Santana narrowed her eyes, "And your little play date to the movies."

"What about it?" Quinn rolled her eyes.

"You're trying to take her away! Just like you took everything else!" Santana took a step toward Quinn.

"You're insane!" Quinn yelled taking a step toward Santana, "Brittany's the only friend I have at this school! You don't own her!"

"Maybe you'd have more friends if you weren't such a fucking bitch!" Santana shoved Quinn.

Quinn grabbed Santana's ponytail and yanked her down. Santana kicked one of her feet behind Quinn and leaned into her. The blonde tumbled backwards, pulling Santana by the Cheerio uniform with her.

"Stop it!" a shrill voice cut through the air. The momentary distraction gave Santana the chance to scramble to her feet. Quinn got to her feet, watching Santana.

"Why can't you both see that you're hurting the one person that cares?" Rachel asked the two feuding girls, Finn hovering behind her. "Brittany has been nothing, but nice to anyone and she's sitting in the parking lot crying. I asked her what was wrong and she said you two were fighting. She's in the Cheerios' locker room right now."

At the sound of their friend in trouble, Santana and Quinn stood to go find Brittany.

"Stop," Rachel called, "I just talked to her and she doesn't really want to talk to either of you right now. So I suggest you sit down and we find a resolution."

"This is all your fault," Quinn muttered as they sunk into the plastic chairs.

"Shut up Quinn," Santana resisted the urge to push Quinn down onto the ground.

Rachel looked them over, "Do you both agree that you need a third party to settle this? And you agreed to the terms set forth today?"

"Are you a lawyer or something?" Santana quipped.

"No, but my dad is," Rachel explained and looked behind her at Finn, "He has be big case and he's been working at home a lot. Anyway, you two need help if you're going to keep Brittany as a friend."

"I wasn't having any problems until Quinn decided to ruin my life," Santana stated with her arms crossed.

Before Quinn could reply, Rachel interrupted. "How about you split days?" Rachel suggested, trying to diffuse the situation. "Like every other week or Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays or something?"

"Like joint custody?" Quinn asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yes," the singer nodded.

Finn added, "How about by class? I've seen you both helping her with different things."

They briefly looked at each other before nodded.

"She has to come over with me when she has a science test. My dad's a doctor," Santana stated, "He can help."

"Then I get her for Spanish and English," Quinn calmly added.

"Fine," Santana shrugged, "Then I get Math. Oh and History."

"No way. I'm way better at history than you," the blonde looked to Rachel for a resolution.

Santana rolled her eyes, "Whatever." Her eyes too found their way to the singer.

Rachel thought before adding, "Show me your tests from yesterday."

Both Cheerios riffled through their bags and presented Rachel with their test. After looking them over Rachel looked up, "Santana gets History."

Santana shot a smug smirk to Quinn who glared back.

"What if there's two tests on the same day?" Finn asked.

"Then," Rachel paused, "Two hours at each house. That's enough to study."

"What is there's no test?" Finn asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Then she gets to decide where she goes. No pressure from either of you," Rachel warned with her finger pointed at both of the Cheerios. "If there's pressure whoever is doing it loses a subject to the other for each infraction. And if you keep doing it, I'll ask her to start coming over to _my_ house. Weekends are entirely up to Brittany. You may ask her over, but you cannot pressure her. Deal?"

"Deal," Santana and Quinn sighed in unison.

Santana eyed Quinn, confident that whenever there was a choice Brittany would come over to her house.

"Now all we have to do is get Brittany to agree," Finn added.

Rachel turned to him, "She already agreed. This was her idea."

Quinn and Santana momentarily forgot their rivalry to look at each other in disbelief. Finn had a similar look on his face directed at Rachel.

She just smiled at him, "Wanna go get something to eat?"

He shrugged and followed her out the door.

Before Quinn could blink, Santana had her phone out and was texting Brittany to see if she wanted to come over. The blonde finally realized this and slapped the phone out of Santana's hands, "No fair."

"Bitch," Santana shoved Quinn just as she was about to reach for her phone. Then she scooped up her phone and ran out the door, knowing that her text would reach Brittany first.

Later that night, Santana was absently running her fingers through Brittany's hair as they just lay in her bed, fully clothed, Brittany with her head in Santana's lap. The brunette asked, "Are you okay?"

Brittany looked up at Santana confused, "Yeah, why?"

Santana shook her head, "Nothing." Then she dropped a kiss on the blonde's forehead, "How was the movie?" As Brittany explained Santana nodded at all the right time and 'hmm'ed and 'ahh'ed when appropriate. She wasn't really focused on the detail of the movie thought. Her mind was in a much darker place. She was thinking about how her world would be if she really did lose Brittany.

After a few seconds, Santana finally realized that Brittany had stopped talking. She looked down and saw big blue eyes looking up at her. Two words left Brittany's lips and hit Santana like a tone of bricks. "You're sad."

Santana swallowed and forced a smile onto her face, "No I'm not. I'm just tired." She leaned down and kissed Brittany full on the lips surprising the blonde. When she pulled back she assured her, "It's okay."

Brittany just nodded, not fully believing Santana. She glanced over at the clock on the wall. When she realized what time it was, she sighed and heaved herself up off of the bed. Santana looked at the clock and knew that Brittany had to go home.

Once she was gone, Santana fell back into her bed. As she lay there, she could smell Brittany's perfume on the pillow next to her. She grabbed the pillow and buried her face in it. She knew that she didn't want to lose Brittany, but today they hadn't gotten to spend very long together and she felt like Brittany was starting to slip away.

Santana didn't want to think about that right then and took a deep inhale smell Brittany left behind, letting it comfort her until she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It helps if you've seen the Britney/Brittany episode, which was phenominal by the way. I don't think there's much of any spoilers in it, but like I said it helps. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

* * *

As she was walking down the hallway wondering where Brittany ran off to, Santana felt someone grab her arm and pull her into a classroom. When she saw it was Quinn she yanked her arm back. "What the hell?" Then she saw Rachel and Jacob Ben Israel. "What's going on?"

"Quinn wants to amend your contract," Rachel explained to Santana holding up the original print out she made after the agreement that Quinn and Santana both signed.

"Yeah? What?" Santana crossed her arms and looked at Quinn. Then she saw Jacob, "What are you doing here?"

"He's a witness," Rachel stated, glancing at her fellow Jew before looking to Quinn to continue.

"You can't sleep with Brittany anymore," Quinn stated and took a step back, knowing that the reaction wasn't going to be pleasant.

Santana looked outraged, "Hell no. There's no way I'm agreeing to that. It's stupid."

"Well it's not fair!" Quinn yelled at the other Cheerio.

"Well boo friggin' hoo," Santana rolled her eyes and looked at Rachel, "Not happening."

Quinn got angrier, "Then I want a clause that says I can sleep with Brittany and Santana can't hit me."

Santana scoffed at Quinn, "Like you would do that. And if your mom caught you _sleeping_ with Brittany you'd be out on your ass again."

That gave Quinn pause, but only for a moment, "Fine, then you can sleep with her, but Brittany has to initiate."

"You know what?" Santana snatched the paper out of Rachel's hand and ripped it in half, "This is stupid. No one is going to tell me how to live my life or how to treat my best friend."

Quinn walked to the doorway and called after Santana, "Then it's on Lopez!" After her declaration, Quinn looked back at Rachel. The diva had a disappointed, even sad look on her face.

Rachel opened her mouth and quietly said to Quinn, "Please don't hurt Brittany."

Quinn absorbed what Rachel said before walking out the door, knowing that she could very well end up doing just that.

At the sad look on Rachel's face, Jacob leaned forward to hug her. Her hand stopped him and pushed him back. "No."

He shrugged as she walked out of the room, "It was worth a try."

During lunch, Santana and Brittany were sitting in the library doing their math homework when Brittany looked up from it. She turned to Santana. "You know our dream thing? At the dentist?"

Santana nodded, trying to pretend to focus on her math.

"How did yours end?" Brittany asked quietly.

Santana looked up and asked back, "How did yours end?"

"Well," Brittany paused, "We were both holding the cane and you pulled it behind you…and we kissed. But not like we usually do. It was like a movie…one of those romantic ones…"

"What do you mean?" Santana got defensive, "We kiss like romantic all the time."

"It was like…" Brittany was getting frustrated with not being able to articulate what she was thinking, "Like when people are dating and stuff. You know when we got running through the park and we see those couples by the fountain…it was like…She trailed off and leaned forward. Her lips barely brushed against Santana's. It was a light and tender kiss that made Santana go warm all over.

Santana smiled when Brittany pulled away, "Mine ended just like that too."

"That was hot," Puck smirked and sauntered up to them.

Santana rolled her eyes at Puck completely ruining the moment. "Are you lost? This is the library…with books. Smart people read them."

The smile on Puck's face didn't falter. Instead he leaned on the table, "Relax babe. I won't tell anyone. Especially if you two wanna let me…play along sometime."

Santana picked up her binder and hit him with it a few times to get him away from the table and more importantly away from Brittany, "Leave now or I'll tell everyone about the poster in your room."

Puck shrunk away, "Fine, but next time I see that public displace of super-hotness I'm going to take a picture and it'll go up on my wall where the poster is."

"Gross you perv," Santana finally just threw the whole binder at him.

He dodged it and walked out the door.

Santana sunk into her seat with a huff. She looked at Brittany who had a small grin on her face. "Why are you smiling?"

"That was hot," Brittany stated.

Santana immediately felt all the annoyance drain from her and she started to lean forward to kiss Brittany again when a loud thud jolted her upright in her chair. When she and Brittany looked up, Quinn was standing there, having just slammed Santana's binder back on the table. The head Cheerio faked a smile, "You dropped something."

"What do you want?" Santana sighed, knowing that Quinn wasn't going to go away so easily.

Quinn turned to Brittany and smiled, "Do you wanna go grab something to eat? That drive thru taco place opened last week."

Brittany looked to Santana. The brunette saw that Brittany was asking for permission and practically begging for Santana to approve of her going. Santana gave up and rubbed the back of her neck, "I'll finish this and you can copy if before class."

Brittany giggled and hugged Santana, "Thank you."

Santana sat back in her chair watching the blondes walk away. She couldn't help having a feeling of hopelessness wash over her. She let her head fall into the book on the table and sat there, formulated what she hoped was the plan to get rid of Quinn.

The next time she saw Brittany was when the blonde was talking to Rachel in the hallway. She caught the tail end of what Brittany was saying. Something about being a better performer than Rachel. Although, Santana was inclined to agree, it wasn't like Brittany to say something so venomously. Sometimes she could say mean things not realizing that they were mean, but she was pretty sure Brittany knew what she was saying could hurt Rachel's feelings.

Santana didn't stop to talk to Brittany. She narrowed her eyes and scanned the hallway. She was hunting.

"What did you do to her?" Santana whirled on Quinn as soon as she found the blonde in the bathroom.

"What do you mean?" Quinn sneered.

Santana looked at her wide-eyed like it was completely obvious, "Brittany. That's not her. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Quinn rolled her eyes, "We just talked and yeah I told her she's a good singer and a great dancer cause we both know it's true. You're just mad because you want Brittany as your sex toy sidekick. Now she's a lead singer and you're swaying in the background."

The last blow Quinn landed left Santana stunned. For a moment she just stood, shell-shocked looking at Quinn. Although Quinn knew she had momentarily left Santana speechless and, much more importantly, defenseless, she didn't don a smug smirk. She saw past the blank look and saw the hurt that she just caused.

For the second time that school year, Quinn thought Santana was going to hit her. Then surprisingly Santana just turned around and walked out the door.

Santana steered clear of everyone she usually talked to until they got to glee. Her mood lightened when Brittany smiled as she walked in.

"I've been looking for you everywhere," Brittany sat down next to her best friend.

Before Santana could reply Mr. Schue walked in. He surveyed the group and put his hands on his hips, "Where are Tina and Mercedes?"

"Tina's at the dentist," Mike added a little disappointed.

"And Mercedes has the flu," Kurt stated.

Mr. Schue took a deep breath, "Well we're not allowed to do any more Britney guys. So any suggestions?"

Kurt raised his hand but before he could speak Santana cut him off, "How are we going to decide who gets the girl leads?" Santana asked, "Now that there's four lead singers."

"And me," Quinn interjected from the row of seats in front of Santana and Brittany.

"Excuse me," Santana crossed her arms, "Four lead singers…and a has been."

"Santana," Mr. Schue warned. Then he looked thoughtful for a moment, "Although Santana has a point. We do have a group full of lead singers and no background singers."

Kurt raised his hand yet again.

"Kurt?"

He smiled and surveyed the girls with a sneer. Then he leaned back in his chair, "Three words. School. Wide. Diva-off."

"Isn't that four words?" Santana sneered back.

Quinn didn't say anything. She just leaned back and shrugged.

Rachel nodded, "It's a good idea." Although no one really believed that she meant it.

Mr. Schue smiled, "Great. I'll book the auditorium and we'll do a show. Each girl can sing one song. The audience can vote and they'll decide who represents us in the solo portion of Sectionals."

In her serious monotone voice Brittany added, "I will crush you all."

* * *

If anyone has any suggestions for what songs the girls should sing I'm open to it. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

Santana had a plan. She was going to take back her place as head Cheerio and she was going to do it in true Santana Lopez style. So when she got to a practice she knew Coach Sylvester was going to be late to, she got the girls to stretching before Quinn got out of the locker room.

"Alright ladies," Santana called when they were done, "Let's take a few warm up laps before we start."

The girls started jogging. The anger on Quinn's face was evident. "Hold it!" she yelled, "I think we should just jump right into choreography."

"If you want half the team to pull their muscles," Santana quipped. She looked around her, "Do we want that ladies?"

There were some mumbled 'no's because no one really wanted to speak up. They knew what would happen.

"Fine," Quinn crossed her arms, "If you want to run with Santana go ahead, but I'm going to start practice with Choreography."

"Alright," Santana turned to the group and led the way around the perimeter of the gym.

Quinn looked crestfallen with the rest of the team followed her.

The practice went on like that until Coach Sylvester came in to run it. As the girls were ready to hit the showers, Sue called, "Fabray, Lopez. My office."

Santana's eyes found Brittany who was watching her. She gave the blonde a small smile before walking out behind Quinn.

"I saw that there was some conflict before practice," she stated looking at the two cheerleaders. Before either one could ask how she saw she answered, "I have cameras everywhere." She paused, "And since there is a power struggle for power." She smiled, "There are now two Cheerio captains. We're going to play this like last man standing. Winner gets to be head Cheerio."

Santana grinned. Now was her chance. She was going to get it back no matter what. However, there was one thing that wasn't right. She had one last thing she needed to pull out from under Quinn and it was the most important thing Santana could think of. Brittany.

So after glee, as Brittany was walking out before saying anything to anyone, Santana trotted to catch up with her. "What did Quinn say to you?"

Brittany quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I'm mean you're acting weird," Santana stated, "And not normal weird."

"I'm not acting weird."

Santana shook her head, "You're acting like Quinn and Rachel. Like you think you're better than everyone else."

"I am," Brittany shrugged.

"That's not you Brittany," Santana cut Brittany off to look her in the eyes, "You're sweet and you're friends with everyone. You don't tell people that you'll crush them. You like to help people. Or you used to."

The blonde thought for a moment, "You're just jealous."

"I-what?" the other Cheerio sputtered, "What are you talking about?"

Brittany didn't meet Santana's eyes. She quietly added, "You're holding me back."

Santana's mouth dropped open. She swallowed hard and tried to catch Brittany's eyes, not being able to. Finally she just shook her head, "Fine. I'm not in your way anymore. We're over. Have a nice life." With that she turned on her heel and walked off.

Brittany's façade immediately fell. She watched Santana walk away. Her mouth had gone dry and by the time she had gotten it in working order again, she called out to Santana. She was met with silence.

The days following the fight in the hallway, Santana and Brittany avoided each other as much as possible. Sometimes they got close enough to steal depressed glances at each other, but that's as far as it got.

From where she was Santana thought that Brittany had successfully pushed away all her friends, including Quinn. Santana wished she could help, but Brittany had hit a very sensitive spot for Santana and that wasn't something she could forgive easily.

Brittany didn't understand why everyone was acting different around her. She wanted to talk to Santana, but Santana didn't seem to want to talk to her. Somehow she'd found an unlikely friend in Mike who she found in the dance room after school one day. They didn't talk about anything, but dancing so they didn't have anything to have an argument over unless it was a step ball change versus a pop and lock.

Santana was working on her song in the auditorium when Puck walked in. The sight of his swagger annoyed her immediately. "What do you want?"

He walked over to a guitar leaning on the wall, "I just came to get this." He picked it up and started to walk out.

"Wait," Santana called.

He looked up at her with the door open.

"Do you wanna…sing with me?" Santana sighed.

He smirked, "Do I want to or you need me to?"

Santana crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "I don't need you to do anything. There are guys calling and texting me all the time that would do anything for me."

"Fine," he shrugged, "I'll help you, but you have to do something for me."

The Cheerio quirked an eyebrow, "You wish."

"Not that," he shook his head.

"Then what?" she asked, dropping her arms and straightening her ponytail.

He set the guitar down, "I'll tell you later. Let's just get this rehearsal over with." He walked over to her and picked up the sheet music on the ground, seeing what song they were doing. "Oh god. Lady Gaga? Really?"

Rachel watched Brittany and Mike dance from the window of the dance room, the beats of a Ke$ha song vibrating the door. She knew there was no way she could compete with them on that level, but she knew she had a fantastic voice. However, she was worried that since the entire student body was voting, it would end up being a popularity contest between the three Cheerios instead of a singing contest.

"Hey," Finn walked up to Rachel, "I got the song you wanted."

She looked away from the window and smiled, "Thanks Finn."

"Since it's a solo, why do you need me?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking through the window. "Hey, they're really good."

"I know," Rachel took his hand inside his pocket and gave him a hopeful smile, "But we got this. I don't need you to sing. I just need you to shuffle around in the cute way to do."

He chuckled and looped his arm around her shoulders.

"It's a solo from the musical Nine," Rachel started to explain, "It was based on Federico Fellini's…"

That was the last Finn heard. He just smiled and tuned her out, letting her lead him to the choir room so they could practice.

Quinn and Tina stood singing in an empty classroom when Quinn reached over and turned off the music, "Hold up. I'm Rihanna. You're Lady Gaga."

"Oh, Sorry," Tina looked at the piece of paper in her hand, "I just got confused."

Quinn sighed, "It's okay. We'll just start over."

Tina nodded. She paused and asked, "Why did you ask me to do this with you?"

"Because, although no one really notices, you're a really great singer," Quinn offered with a tentative smile.

Tina let out a wide smile. It meant a lot from one of the captains of the Cheerios, "Thanks Quinn."

"And because no one remembered that you were a member of glee and forgot to add you in the competition," the blonde leaned back on a desk.

Tina's smile fell and her head dropped a little.

Quinn pushed off of the desk, "Okay. Let's get back to work."

"This is bad," Kurt said to Artie as they cleaned up the instruments in the glee room.

"What is?" Artie asked.

Kurt straightened his jacket, "This diva-off. I know it was my idea, but the more I think about it, the more I think it's a terrible idea."

Artie scrunched his mouth to the side, "Because if Quinn wins Santana will quit and if Santana wins Quinn will quit and if Brittany wins her head with become so big it explodes and if Rachel wins we'll never hear the end of _suggestions_?"

Kurt looked surprised, but nodded, "Exactly."

"Things can be done," Artie stated in the most mysterious voice he could muster.

Kurt nodded, "Rachel is already annoying but if she wins there's a slim chance anyone will quit because of it. And let's face it, we need all of those girls to win Nationals. We have to sabotage Brittany, Quinn, and Santana."

Artie nodded, "I already have some ideas."

"Alright," Kurt nodded, "It's decided. Rachel will no matter what."


	4. Chapter 4

The day of the competition had arrived and the whole school was buzzing. Even though it was a glee event, the majority of the school was excited. They were waiting for the Santana/Quinn face-off after what happened in the hallway a few weeks ago.

Kurt stood next to the light controls and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. As people filed in for the special assembly, he was starting to get antsy. It's not like he'd never sabotaged anyone before. It was just he needed to sabotage three people without anyone, but Artie knowing.

"How do I look?" Rachel asked Finn in the prop closet they were using as a dressing room. She twirled around in the gold glittery, fringy top, skirt and boot combo. Her hair was curled in soft waves around her shoulder.

He smiled at her, "You look great." He looked down at himself, "What about me? I look cool right?"

Rachel chuckled, "So cool." She straightened out his black suit jacket and skinny black tie, "Just don't forget your sunglasses."

Santana leaned closer to the mirror as she applied to blue paint to her face. Once she had finished the classic Gaga lightning bolt under her eye, she shimmied into her black tights and large 80s inspired shirt that hung off her shoulder. As she checked in the mirror one last time, Puck poked his head in the door, "You ready?"

Santana grinned, "Definitely." She looked over Puck's baggy jeans and tight black muscle shirt.

He smirked, "You like?"

"Oh yeah sure," she rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror adding some mascara before deciding she was ready.

Quinn and Tina were up first with a Lady Gaga/Rihanna mash-up. It went pretty well up until the part where the background CD started to skip. They both looked at each other and when it finally stopped they both gave up and walked off the stage.

Mr. Schue walked out with a card in his hand, "Next up we have Rachel." He walked off the stage and the lights went off.

A single spot light lit Rachel up at center stage. She smiled as the music started. Finn sauntered onto the stage and took her head twirling her around before letting her stop to start singing.

__

I love the black and white

_I love the play of light_

_The way Contini puts his image through a prism_

Rachel walked around Finn who pretended to have a camera filming her. She strutted around and twirled as she sang, owning the stage.

_I feel my body chill gives me a special thrill _

_Each time I see that Guido Neo-Realism_

_I love the dark, handsome guys _

_With their skinny little ties_

_Dressing mod, looking outta sight_

_I love to watch them as they move_

_In their pointy little shoes_

_Wearing shades in the middle of the night_

_Whatever Guido does it makes me smile_

_He is the essence of Italian style_

_I love the glamousy Latin world _

_Only Guido can portray_

_Contini cinema Italiano_

_I love that cinema Italiano_

_He makes me feel with cinema italiano_

_My life is real with cinema italiano_

_He is the king of cinema italiano._

_Contini's cinema italiano! _

Rachel and Finn froze in the middle of the stage, smiling and catching their breath. The gym erupted with applause.

After the curtain dropped, Mr. Schue walked up in front of the crowd smiling, "Alright, next up is Brittany!"

A few seconds after he hopped off the stage, the curtain flew up, revealing Brittany and Mike both posed, frozen in the dark against a blue backdrop. They both pulsed with the beat before Brittany started singing.

_And now the sun is rising_

_And now the long walk back home_

_There's just so many faces_

_But no one I need to know_

She took a few purposeful steps to the front of the stage and looked over the audience as she sang. When she saw who she was looking for, they locked eyes. When she looked away, Santana was sure that that song was meant for her to hear.

_In the dark I can't fight it, I fake til I'm numb_

_But in the bright light, _

_I taste you on my tongue_

_Now the party's over_

_And everybody's gone_

_I'm left here with myself and I wonder what went wrong_

_And now my heart is broken _

_Like the bottles on the floor_

_Does it really matter_

_Or am I just hung over you?_

_Ah ah ah, ah ah ah_

_Or am I just hungover?_

_Even my dirty laundry_

_Everything just smells like you_

_And now my head is throbbing_

_Every song is out of tune_

_Just like you_

As she and Mike danced gracefully around the stage, the speakers crackled. Then suddenly, the music was gone. Mike continued on with his dance as he was trained to do. Brittany looked momentarily confused. She then saw Santana in the crowd, narrowed her eyes and stepped to the front of the stage. She belted out the last part of the song acappella.

_And now the party's over_

_And everybody's gone_

_I'm left here with myself and I wonder what went wrong_

_And now my heart is broken _

_Like the bottles on the floor_

_Does it really matter_

_Or am I just hung over you?_

With the last resounding questions, the entire gym was on their feet. Without the music, Brittany's voice had filled the gym with a haunting echo that sent chills through everyone, including and especially Santana.

However the Cheerio didn't have time to dwell on it. She was up. She trotted backstage to take her place just as Brittany was leaving the stage. They shared a small glance, without pause.

When Santana heard her name she looked at Puck who stood in the middle of the stage with her.

_He ate my heart_  
_He a-a-ate my heart_

_He ate my heart_  
_He a-a-ate my heart out_

_Look at him_  
_Look at me_  
_That boy is bad_  
_And honestly_  
_He's a wolf in disguise_  
_But I can't stop staring in those evil eyes_

When she caught sight of Brittany in taking her seat in the crowd, she decided to make a little impromptu change in the lyrics. She needed Brittany to know that she felt just as strong about what was going on between them.

_That girl is a monster_  
_M-M-M-Monster_  
_That girl is a monster_  
_M-M-M-Monster_  
_That girl is a monster_  
_Er-er-er-er_

_She ate my heart_  
_(I love that girl)_  
_She ate my heart_  
_(Wanna talk to her, she's hot as hell)_

_She licked her lips_  
_Said to me_  
_Girl you look good enough to eat_  
_Put her arms around me_  
_Said "Girl now get your paws right off me"_

_She ate my heart_  
_She ate my heart_  
_Instead she's a monster in my bed_

_I wanna Just Dance_  
_But she took me home instead_  
_Uh oh! There was a monster in my bed_  
_We french kissed on a subway train_  
_She tore my clothes right off_

_She ate my heart then she ate my brain_  
_Uh oh uh oh_  
_(I love that girl)_  
_(Wanna talk to her, she's hot as hell)_

_That girl is a monster_  
_M-M-M-Monster_  
_That girl is a monster_  
_M-M-M-Monster_  
_That girl is a monster_  
_Er-er-er-er_

Just as she was dancing her way to the stage, the lights went off. Everything was pitch black. Suddenly, Santana could feel herself falling, but couldn't stop herself. When her feet it the ground she felt her ankle twist under her before she hit her head on something cold and hard.

Everyone heard the thud, but no one could see it. Artie panicked and flipped the lights back on. When everyone saw the crumpled heap that was Santana in the floor the glee kids were the first to her. Brittany sank to her knees next to Santana who was holding the back of her head while trying to sit up. Brittany easily slid behind her to prop her up. She let out a small gasp when Santana pulled her hand away from her head and she saw blood coating her fingers.

"We have to get her to the hospital," Rachel stated, looking to the rest of the group.

"What happened?" Santana squinted and looked at the red liquid on her hand.

Mr. Schue knelt next to her, "The lights went off and you fell off the stage. I don't know how it happened, but we have to move you outside to get to a car."

"We can use my car," Puck offered and dug in his pocket, "I'll move it to the front door." With that he sprinted out the door.

Principle Figgins was instructing the rest of the school to leave the gym so that they could easily transport Santana.

Santana's eyes started to slide closed when Ms. Pillsbury gently touched her shoulder, "Santana, honey you can't go to sleep."

"Mmk," Santana nodded.

Emma's eyes shifted to Brittany, "You need to keep her awake okay? It's really important."

The panicked Cheerio looked from Santana to Ms. Pillsbury before nodded. If it was important for Santana she would do anything.

"Santana," Mr. Schue said taking her arm, "We need you to stand up okay?"

"Okay," Santana nodded, sleepily.

Finn got on the other side of Santana from Mr. Schue and pulled the Cheerio up. However when she put her foot on the ground she shrieked and nearly fell again. Mr. Schue and Finn caught her and held her up as she limped on the foot she didn't fall on.

Brittany, Quinn, Rachel, and Tina all scrambled around them opening doors and getting people out of the way.

When they got to the front door of the school, they found that Puck had pulled his car onto the front walkway and was only a few feet from the door. Once Santana was in the car, Brittany and Quinn got in with her while Mr. Schue got in the front seat. Ms. Pillsbury led Finn and Rachel to her car.

"Oh my god," Kurt said in the middle of the empty gym. Artie was still, next to him, looking at the ground.

"This is all our fault," Artie looked up at Kurt.

Kurt gave him a firm nod and set his jaw, "C'mon we have to go to the hospital and tell Santana what happened."

"We're dead," Artie shook his head and started toward the door.

When they got to the hospital, Brittany was talking non-stop to Santana to keep her awake. She brought up every happy memory she could think of and watched Santana deliriously smile and nod at each story.

Once inside, the nurses put Santana in a wheelchair. Before they could wheel her away, Brittany hugged Santana with tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry. I love you, San."

Santana looked up at Brittany with a questioning gaze before the nurses took her away.

The next few minutes were anxious for the gleeks. Although they were all ninety-nine percent sure Santana would be okay, there was still that one percent. Brittany seemed to be taking it the hardest. She just sat in a waiting room chair and stared at the floor, biting her nails and absently wiping stray tears.

Santana's parents showed up a few minutes later and were immediately led to her room. All of Santana's glee family was left outside for another twenty minutes until Santana's dad walked up to them. His tie was loosened around his neck and the sleeves of his button down were rolled up to his elbows. He looked at them all with his hand in his trouser pockets. He gave them a half-hearted smile, "Santana's okay. She had a severe concussion and needed some stitches on the back of her head. She also sprained her ankle pretty good. She says she's up for seeing visitors if you all would like to follow me."

Everyone shot up out of their chairs and followed him down a series of hallways before he pushed open the door. Brittany was nervous and automatically reached for the hand closest to hers. Rachel gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before allowing Brittany to be the first gleek inside.

Santana was sitting up in her bed, looking at her blanket covered feet. When she saw Brittany, she let out a goofy smile.

"She's on some…medication so she may not really be all that lucid," Her dad explained. He ushered them all in before standing the doorframe, "I'm going to get some coffee. Call the nurses if anything happens. I'll be back shortly."

"Hey guys," Santana said after a few awkward seconds of silence.

"Uh, hey?" Puck said when no one else spoke.

Artie and Kurt appeared at the door and stepped inside. Kurt cleared his throat, "We have something to say and we'd appreciate your full attention when we say it because I'm not sure I'll have the courage to in a few seconds." He paused waiting for everyone's attention, which he got. He folded his hands in front of him, "We sabotaged Quinn, Brittany and Santana. We made Quinn's CD skip. We turned off Brittany's microphone and we turned off the lights during Santana's performance."

"Why did you do that?" The outraged outburst didn't come from the usually culprit who was laying the hospital bed, but it came from the blonde Cheerio next to her, who was uncharacteristically fuming. "Santana could have been hurt a lot worse!"

Artie lowered his eyes, "We're sorry. We didn't want anyone to get hurt….we didn't think anyone would."

Brittany's eyes were still on fire. "I can't believe you'd do that to us…"

Rachel gently squeezed the blonde's hand to try to calm her down, "Brittany, I'm sure they had a good reason for it."

Quinn coldly asked the short diva, "Did you pay them to do it?"

"Rachel, surprisingly, had nothing to do with it," Kurt explained.

Artie quickly added, "We were just trying to keep glee together. With the way things were going if anyone but Rachel won we figured that one or more of you would quit. Plus if Brittany or Santana won they might fight so much they might break up."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Santana shook her head, "What do you mean break up?"

Puck added, "C'mon we're not stupid…well not all of us."

"You two breaking up would be like the fall of Brangelina except you'd be…Santittany," Rachel added, backing up Artie and Kurt.

"We're not dating," Brittany looked at the ground and quietly added.

Santana furrowed her eyebrows, "Even if we were, how is trying to kill me going to save us?"

"Since we fixed it so if Rachel won you two wouldn't be completing against each other, maybe you'd get together again," Kurt shrugged, "You know, once your big heads shrunk down to normal size."

"If that didn't work I was going to lock you in the janitor's closet til you made out," Puck offered.

"You knew?" Finn looked at Puck.

The football player crossed his arms, "I heard them talking about it in the glee room. I didn't know what they were going to do. But it's a good idea. We need all of you girls if we're going to win Nationals."

Santana looked at Brittany who was kicking at the ground. She took a deep breath. "Thank you guys for coming to see me, but I think Brittany and I need to talk." She pinched the bridge of her nose before she rubbed her face.

Everyone said their goodbyes. The brave even hugged her before leaving. When the last one was gone, Brittany lingered near the door and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She brought her eyes up from the ground to the girl in the hospital bed.

"C'mere," Santana patted a spot on the bed next to her.

Brittany slowly walked over and lowered herself onto the mattress, taking up as little space as possible. She forced herself to look at Santana. Her best friend looked tired and worn down. Her hair wasn't its usual perfection and there were dark circles under her eyes.

Santana was also taking a survey of her best friend. Brittany's face was pink and her eyes were red from tears. Her hair was a little messed up and she was still wearing her costume.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Santana decided to start talking.

* * *

Santana sang "Monster" by Lady Gaga

Brittany sang "Hungover" by Ke$ha

Rachel sang "Cinema Italiano" from the musical _Nine_


	5. Chapter 5

Santana smiled wistfully, "You did amazing. Singing and dancing like that and then at the end…" She held Brittany's eyes, "You're amazing B."

Brittany bowed her head, "I guess." Then she smoothed out the blanket next to her.

A silence settled over them and they both fidgeted until Brittany slowly looked up, "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Santana immediately shook her head, "Of course not."

"But you sang that song," a small sniffle escaped the blonde who was fighting to hold back tears.

They both looked up when there was a knock on the door. Mercedes stood there with her hands folded in front of her, "Am I interrupting?"

Brittany quickly shook her head and stood up, "I'm going to go get some water." She didn't even look at Santana as she walked out.

Santana started to go after her, but the IV in her arm made her journey short and painful. "Damn it," she hissed and fell back in her bed.

"I came as soon as I heard," Mercedes said, her voice scratchy.

Santana nodded, "Are you still sick?"

"A little, but I went to see your dad today and he said it's okay if I go back to school tomorrow," Mercedes walked in, but lingered next to the bed, "I only know the short version of what's been going and seeing as how Brittany's crying I don't think things have been going that great."

"Things have been the opposite of great," Santana fixed the tape around her IV.

Mercedes sighed, "Why don't you tell me what happened? Maybe I can help."

Santana shook her head, "There was some sort of joint custody agreement between me and Quinn about Brittany and then I think Quinn said something to her and she got this huge ego. I blew up one day and I think I broke up with her."

"You were dating?" Mercedes asked, wide-eyed.

Santana shook her head, "Not really… Not officially…especially not anymore. Anyway, there was a diva-off and sabotage. Now she thinks I'm mad at her or I hate her."

"Sounds rough," Mercedes nodded taking a seat at the end of the bed. She looked down at the bed then back up at Santana, "You know, I'm probably not the first person you'd turn to for advice, but I don't think you're the only person to blame in this."

"You're right," Santana crossed her arms, "It's all Quinn's fault."

"No," Mercedes let out an amused smirk, "I'm saying that Brittany may have had something to do with everything too."

Santana narrowed her eyes, "You're right. You are the last person I'd turn to for advice." She struggled to get to the edge of the bed and use the IV stand to hold her up, "If you'll excuse me. I have to find Brittany."

"Wait, wait, wait," Mercedes shook her head, "Just hear me out. Then I'll go find Brittany myself."

Santana knew she was losing her struggle against the equipment anyway so she sat back and crossed her arms, "You have thirty seconds."

"From what I've heard, Brittany has gotten a big head after that whole Britney Spears deal," Mercedes stated, "And I'm sure Quinn hasn't helped. She's had it in for you since this semester started and hitting you in your most vulnerable place makes sense, but we all know Brittany is smarter then we give her credit for. She could have stopped."

"All I'm hearing is this is Quinn and Brittany's fault," Santana started, "Mostly Quinn's."

"And yours," Mercedes added, "I think I'm trying to get you to see that you're all equally to blame. You and Quinn have your little rivalry and Brittany has finally entered the mix. You all need to sit down. For the good of your friendships, your high school reps and for the good of the glee club."

"You've had way too much time to think about this," Santana rolled her eyes, although seeing Mercedes had a point. "I listened. Can you go get Brittany now?"

Mercedes stood and nodded, making good on her promise. She gave Santana a brief smile, "I hope you feel better."

"Thanks," Santana answered, laying back in her bed when she left. She sighed. She knew Brittany had had something to do with something. She just wasn't sure what and how much she wanted to blame her because usually in her eyes Brittany was flawless and perfectly innocent. She wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but the way Brittany looked at the world was refreshing and completely endearing.

She looked up when she heard shoes scrape against the floor. She saw Brittany standing near the door with her hands folded in front of her. Brittany looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldn't find the right words.

Santana started to open her mouth to speak, but that caused a look of panic to wash over Brittany so Santana closed her mouth again and waited for Brittany to get out what she was going to say.

"Do you think I'm a…" Brittany stared hard at the white tile floor, "A monster- like the song?"

"No," Santana immediately added words running out of her mouth to assuage Brittany's fear as quickly as possible, "Of course not." She sighed and slowed her words down, "I was just hurt, B. That song was a little harsh. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Brittany finally met Santana's eyes, but stayed near the door.

Santana motioned for Brittany to come over to her and when Brittany got close enough, she took her hand, pulling her into the bed and into her arms. "That song you sang…is that really how you felt?"

Brittany nodded her head against Santana's shoulder.

"I'm really, really sorry," Santana closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Brittany's forehead.

Brittany slowly pulled out of the embrace and looked at her hands in her lap then down at her feet that were swinging above the ground. "You know when I said you were holding me back?"

Santana winced. That sentence was still painful. "Yeah."

The blonde bit her lip, "I didn't mean it. Quinn told me that you were holding me back. She said that I was just your sex toy sidekick and I could be a lead singer if I wanted to." She looked at Santana and laid back down next to her, cuddling up on her side, "I don't wanna be a lead singer if you're going to be mad at me. I like being your sex toy sidekick. I just want things to go back to how it was."

Santana furrowed her eyebrows, "You think you're just my sex toy sidekick?"

The blonde shrugged, "When I was watching Sex In The City and they said that a sex toy is what you use when there's not a guy around. And I always stand behind you, like a sidekick in all those superhero cartoons."

After a few moments of silence, Santana finally asked, "Do you like it that way?"

"I like the sex toy part," Brittany snuggled into Santana as her hand made it's way under the top of Santana's Cheerio top. She started to dance her fingers around on the tender skin of Santana's stomach, "And I don't care where I stand."

The injured Cheerio closed her eyes, absorbing the feel. She hadn't had Brittany's hands on her in a long time. Well it had only been about ten days, but that was a lifetime in Brittany/Santana time. However, she still needed to straighten some things out with the blonde so she stilled Brittany's hand with her own and looked down at the blonde, "What I'm asking is, do you want to be something more?"

"Like what?" Brittany looked at Santana, confusion written all over her face.

"Like-" Santana couldn't bring herself to say it. Instead she asked another question, "When they were taking me away from you guys, you said you love me, right?"

Brittany nodded.

"Do you love me like a friend? Like you love Quinn? Or like Rachel loves Finn?" Santana asked.

Brittany was quiet for a long time, her body rigid. She rolled toward Santana a little and buried her face in Santana shoulder, mumbling her answer.

Santana chuckled at the bashfulness. She was pretty sure she knew the answer based on the reaction, but she needed to hear it out loud. "What?"

Brittany turned her head sideways so that her lips were a whisper away from Santana's ear. Her breath sent chills from Santana's head down to her toes and when Brittany answered, her body got tingly. "I love you like Rachel loves Finn."

Santana grinned and gathered Brittany in her arms, before kissing her like their lives depended on it. She ran her tongue along Brittany's bottom lip, a move that Brittany loved and was rewarded with a moan. She moved her hands up Brittany's back before tangling her hands in soft blonde hair while Brittany was trying to get up on her elbow to use more leverage and get on top of Santana.

Suddenly the clattering of metal and plastic hitting the ground ripped them apart. Brittany moved backwards so fast, she fell off of the bed with a thud and a groan. Santana momentarily ignored her mother to check to make sure Brittany was okay. Then she Brittany scrambled up. The look of panic on Brittany's face was severely evident and Santana could tell she wanted to run off, but when she felt Brittany take a gentle hold of her hand she knew Brittany was staying.

Santana sighed and looked at her mother who was still shocked, standing behind a moat of hospital cafeteria food. This was something she never wanted to have to confront, but it seemed that it was inevitable. She wished that she could read the look on her mother's face, but she had no such luck. The only thing she could see was shock.

After another few minutes of staring at each other, Santana's mom turned on her heel and walked out.

Santana's heart sank. This is definitely how she wanted it to go. She wanted her mom to smile and say how happy she was that Santana had found something as amazing and sweet as Brittany to be in a relationship with. Now was she was stuck in a hospital bed while her mom ran off to tell god knows who and do god knows what.

The next thing she registered was the absence of the warm hand of Brittany in her own. The blonde was already halfway out the door when Santana realized what was going on.

"Mom! Brittany!" Santana scrambled to get out of bed, dragging her IV stand with her, through the mush of food in front of the door and into the hallway with excruciating pain shooting through her ankle. When she got out in the sterile walkway, she didn't see either woman.

"Shit," she hissed and started limping away, her IV stand's wheels squeaking behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

"Miss, you need to get back in bed," one of the nurses started trotting after her.

Santana turned to the nurse, "Where did the lady in the gray suit and the blonde girl in the cheerleader uniform go?"

"You really need-"

"Where did they go?" Santana asked in her most menacing voice. When it came out the nurse's eyes widened and she just pointed down the hallway in the direction Santana was already walking in.

Santana shoved her arm at the woman, "Take this damn thing out."

"I don't think-"

"Do it!"

Santana gritted her teeth as the nurse removed the IV. Once it was out, she turned back to the direction she was limping in and started to push herself to go faster. She had to go protect Brittany from her mother.

When she got a few more meters down the hallway she heard her mother talking in a hushed voice. When Santana turned the corner she saw her mother, father and Brittany quietly talking in a small triangle. Her mom still looked distraught, but when her father spotted her he gave her a worried look, "What are you doing? You need to be in bed."

"I came to make sure Brittany was okay," Santana let out, knowing that this may start some sort of confrontation. Although she was a little lightheaded from the pain in her ankle, she was ready.

"She's fine," her dad smiled and looked to the blonde who nodded, although there was no smile on her face, "C'mon we'll all go back to your room okay?" He walked over to the nurses station and got a wheelchair. After making sure Santana was securely in the chair he looked at Brittany, gesturing for her to follow him and then took off toward Santana's hospital room, leaving her mom in the hallway.

"Okay," he helped Santana back into the bed and watched as the nurse reinserted her IV. He sat down in the chair next to Santana's bed and patted the bed looking at Brittany, gesturing for her to sit on the edge of the bed by Santana. When she did, he looked at both of them with a playful smile, "So, is there something you wanted to tell me?"

Brittany looked at Santana with a terrified look in her blue eyes. Santana offered a reassuring

smile and gently took her hand. She looked at her dad and after a deep breath said, "I don't know what this is…or what I am, but I know that I love Brittany. A lot."

Her dad turned to Brittany and asked, "How do you feel?"

"I love her too," Brittany mumbled, but looked him in the eye.

"Well," he nodded, "That's all I need to know. Who wants ice cream?"

Santana looked really confused and looked to Brittany who was smiling at her. Santana shook her head to make sure it wasn't a dream before telling her dad what kind of ice cream she wanted.

"That was…weird," Santana said out loud when he finally left.

Brittany nodded, "But he was nice."

"He was awesome," Santana grinned. She was about to lean in and kiss Brittany when her mom stepped into the room. All her muscles went rigid and she could feel the tension appear in the air.

Her mom looked them both over before plopping down in the chair farthest away from the bed. She was about to open her mouth then Santana's dad waltzed in with the ice cream. He handed them all out and sat in the chair by the bed.

Santana set her ice cream on the meal tray because her mom's presence ruined her appetite.

"So," her father said and put a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, "You know you're going to have to leave your door open when Brittany comes over now."

Santana frowned, but figured since they were out to her parents now, she was going to have to make a few changes. However, since at least her dad seemed to approve, it lifted some weight off of her shoulders. She didn't have to hide her relationship from her parents anymore and hiding was becoming hard.

After a while, Santana's dad was paged out of the room and her mom followed. Brittany turned to Santana and let out a long sigh. Santana smiled and pulled the blonde down into her arms, "You okay?"

The blonde leaned into Santana, "Yeah. I just got scared for a minute."

"I wouldn't let my mom do anything to you," Santana assured her.

"That's not what I was scared about," Brittany looked up at Santana.

The brunette caught Brittany's eyes, "What were you scared of?"

"That you wouldn't want to see me again or be my friend anymore," Brittany's eyes affirmed the insecurity in Santana's voice, "When your parents found out."

Santana paused for a moment before leaning over to kiss the blonde girl in her arms, "That wouldn't happen." She let out a playful smile, "Who would take care of me when I get hurt?"

Brittany grinned knowing that when Santana was hurt or sick she pretty much scared everyone else off besides her. When Santana had the flu last year the only person that ever went into her room was Brittany because Santana yelled at everyone else.

The door opened and Quinn stepped in with her head down and a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She slowly looked up at the two on the bed, but kept her head tilted down.

"What do you want?" Santana asked, as Brittany slid out of her arms to sit in the chair next to the bed.

"I came to say…I'm sorry," Quinn made a weird face like the phrase tasted bad. "More to Brittany than you."

Someone on the other side of the doorway cleared their throat behind Quinn. Santana and Brittany couldn't see who it was so Brittany glanced at Santana who nodded. So Brittany stood up and opened the door all the way, revealing Mercedes and Rachel.

"What's going on?" Santana sat up.

"Mercedes explained to me what happened and basically forced me to come apologize," Quinn stated, "And I meant I'm sorry when I said it to Brittany."

Rachel nudged Quinn in the back. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "And yeah I could be a little nicer to Santana…but I don't see the point."

"I forgive you," Brittany simply said.

Quinn let out a smile only Brittany seemed to be able to illicit from anyone. The head Cheerio walked over to Brittany and hugged her.

"Can you and Santana at least agree to be civil to each other?" Mercedes pointed between them, "And not use Brittany against each other?"

Santana quirked an eyebrow at Quinn who finally nodded, "Sure."

"Yeah whatever," Santana shrugged.

"Can we go get ice cream now?" Quinn looked at Rachel, "I was promised ice cream."

Rachel smirked, "Sure. Let's go."

Quinn, Mercedes, and Rachel left Brittany and Santana alone again. Brittany sat down next to Santana on the bed. "So you and Quinn are going to be nice to each other?"

"I never said nice," Santana quipped, but the look on Brittany's face made her melt, "but I'll try…for you."


End file.
